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History's Lucrezia de' Medici
Lucrezia de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman, the eldest daughter of Lorenzo de' Medici and Clarice Orsini. Her portrait was considered (as a newborn) as the baby Jesus in Our Lady of the Magnificat of Sandro Botticelli. Life She was married in February 1488 to Jacopo Salviati. She brought a dowry of 2000 florins to the marriage. When her brothers were exiled from Florence, she was in a difficult spot, as Jacopo was a supporter of the new rulers. In August 1497 she spent 3000 ducats to support a plot to return her brother, Pietro de' Medici to power. When it failed, the men participating in the plot were executed, but the leader of Florence, could not consider harming a woman. She continued to work to build support for the Medici Family, including negotiating the marriage of her niece, Clarice de' Medici, to Filippo Strozzi the Younger against the desires of the Florentine leaders. When her brother, Giuliano returned to Florence in 1512, he asked the advice of his sisters on how he should restructure the government. In March 1513, her brother became Pope Leo X, and the Medicis held days of celebrations in Florence. Lucrezia and her siblings gave gifts and money to crowds outside the family palace. By 1514, Pope Leo had so drained The Vatican treasuries that he pawned the papal tiara (worth 44000 ducats) to Lucrezia and her husband. Lucrezia began to have public disputes with her sister-in-law, Alfonsina Orsini, who was working to elevate her son, Lorenzo de' Medici. She and her husband preferred that a group rule Florence, rather than an individual. Pope Leo appointed Lucrezia's son Giovanni Salviati a Cardinal in 1517. Lucrezia managed his household and office for him from 1524, particularly while he was travelling as a Papal Legate. She used that influence to help promote Medici causes in Rome. Lucrezia was with Pope Leo when he died. In 1527, when the Medici were again exiled from Florence, Jacopo wound up a prisoner of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor along with Lucrezia's cousin, Pope Clement VII. Lucrezia worked to gather a ransom and get her husband released. She and her husband opposed Pope Clement's decision to marry their grand-niece Catherine de' Medici to the future King Henry II of France, claiming that such an important Medici heir should marry within Italy. Jacopo died in 1533. Lucrezia outlived him by twenty years. Lucrezia's exact death date is unknown, but it is estimated that she died between 10th and 15th November 1553. She was 83 years old. Later in life In 1520, Pope Leo X asked her to help support convents in Florence. She paid for a significant expansion of the convent of San Giorgio. She built other chapels in 1530 in Rome. She and Giovanni later worked together to pay for a chapel in Rome which would also serve as a resting place for the family. In November 1520, she exchanged messages with Filippo Nerli and Niccolò Machiavelli about editing a biography of Alexander the Great. She was a patron of Girolamo Benivieni. Together, she and Benivieni petitioned her brother Pope Leo X to support their effort to bring the body of Dante Alighieri to his home town of Florence. Notes * Her real name was Lucrezia Maria Romola de' Medici '' * Had 10 children, some of whom were of great importance to the history of Renaissance Europe. * She and her husband opposed Pope Clement VII's decision to marry their grand-niece Catherine de' Medici to the future King Henry II of France, wantingt such an important Medici heir to marry within Italy. * In August 1497 she spent a large sum to try and return her brother, ''Pietro de' Medici to power. When it failed, the men participating in the plot were executed, they could not consider harming a woman. * In March 1513, her other brother became Pope Leo X. * Lucrezia was with Pope Leo X when he died. * Lucrezi's son, Bernardo Salviati was the knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. * After Bernardo Salviati establishing himself in France, he rebuilt the Château de Talcy, and became ''Grand Almone''r to Catherine de' Medici. References Category:Historical Category:Historical Figure Category:Reign